Page 6 of Accidentally Kidnapping the Biker

“What kind of asshole would press charges against a woman who was running away from men who were trying to shoot her?”

“I don’t know who would do that but she probably had it coming. She and her friends have been nothing but trouble since they showed up in Lonesome. We don’t need their kind around. We have a good thing going, the Lost Souls and me and my boys. We do some business, have some fun. It was all good until they came to town.”

His words spark a memory. JD recently banned a pair of locals from the salvage yard he operates in partnership with the Lonesome Garage. A couple of Cross’s buddies had been helping JD’s girl’s stalker track her down. That had ended poorly for almost everybody. Fortunately, JD and his girl came through in the end.

“I hear the courts said you’re full of shit. Dude, they paid over asking and you’re trying to claim coercion? I don’t know what your game is with Kat, but you lost here. Move on and get gone,” I tell him. Cross looks like he wants to argue, but he loses the urge when I stand straight and cross my arms.

I spot Kat exiting the building. Physically, she looks terrific. Knee-length skirts have never been so sexy. A few honey curls have escaped from the bun on the back of her head. They bounce when she walks, bracketing her full, red lips. When she gets closer, I see a sheen of sweat on her pale forehead, and the strain in her smile. My plans for the night go out the window.

We make arrangements for tomorrow, and she’s quiet as we head out of town. The silence between us is comfortable, butI want to know more about her before our date. “JD said you and Rhiannon are two of the partners in the Sunny-Lu Spa and Salon. How did you get mixed up in that?”

She snorts softly. “A woman will do terrible things to hold onto a good hairdresser.”

I laugh. “No, seriously.”

Her smile fades a bit. “I owe you, so okay, seriously. Romy needed investors to buy the property, and when I checked it out, I had an idea. I brought in Rhiannon, and Romy asked her sister. But I had a condition, and the others agreed to put it into effect in phase two. The salon and spa will provide Sunny-Lu’s primary income, but I wanted a different building on the site for another reason.”

“Which one?” Did Cross have a point? Did his parents miss an opportunity?

“I wanted to renovate one of the other structures into a multi-purpose hall. It can host bridal showers or parties and stuff to pay the bills, but I really want it to be able to act as a community classroom too. I need a place where we can hold seminars teaching local women how to help themselves. How to organize their wills and insurance documents. How investments and loans work. How to budget and pay bills. Some basic self-defence. Maybe branch out into how to change a tire or unclog a sink.”

“How Not to Need a Man 101,” I say.

“No, not at all,” she protests. “I’d love a partner to take half the load. It’s fucking exhausting to do it all on my own. It’s even harder as a single mom, as Violet found out. But if you can’t find a good guy, it all falls on your shoulders. Women aren’t taught any of this shit. Girls learn how to do laundry; boys learn how to mow the lawn. Vi got a crash course when her first husband died, and the rest of us were useless to her. She is one of my best friends, and I couldn’t help her.”

I wince, because I’ve been there, and it sucks. When I was in the service, men fell and those of us left behind tried to help their widows and families, but there was only so much we could do.

But Kat isn’t done. “If I can provide some basic skills to other women to make their lives a little easier, I’m going to do it. The others agreed to help me. Locals can register for seminars once we come up with a curriculum. Hopefully they’ll also head to the spa for some services afterward and discuss what they learned.”

“I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

“Nobody has. That’s the risk. It’s also why Romy will also be booking bridal showers and birthday parties until we get things off the ground.”

“Damn, you’ve got it all figured out.” The premise was fucking novel. And, I reluctantly admit to myself, necessary. No woman of mine would ever need to change her own tire or shovel her own driveway, but it cost my ego nothing if she knew how to do it. It was a refreshing change from the bitches who expected it.

“I hope so.”

When I pull into the gas station, I see that Kat’s car has been moved to a corner of the parking pad. I hesitate before I unlock the doors. She’s touching her head a lot. Her lips are redder than ever because of how pale she is. “Are you sure you’re okay to drive home?” We’re halfway to Lonesome but I’m not sure if she’s going to make it. “You owe me a date tomorrow. I want to make sure I can collect.”

“I always pay up. I’ll be okay.”

“I’m following you home,” I say. It’s not a request.

Kat must be hurting because she doesn’t argue. “Good. Then you’ll know where to show up for dinner.”

Despite the empty highway, Kat sticks to the speed limit and turns before we get to town onto the road leading around Lac Lu, a wide spot in the narrow stretch of the Missouri River runningthrough this part of the state. Four small houses, cottages really, are in a row on the east shore and she pulls into the second driveway.

She pauses and sticks her head out the car window. “Seven, tomorrow?” she calls.

“It’s a date.” It gives her time to get some rest. If things go like I hope, she’ll need it.

And it gives me time to figure out what the fuck Jefferson Cross is up to.

Chapter 5

Kat

Ihave red wine breathing on the table and beer chilling in the fridge. A kick-ass apple and celeriac stuffed pork tenderloin and my famous potatoes au gratin are already in the oven, and the parmesan green beans are ready to go.

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